Upper House Hong Kong: An Excellent, Unconventional, Simple, Luxury Hotel

When we visited Hong Kong, there were two hotels I was most hoping to stay — the Rosewood Hong Kong, which is located in Kowloon, and the Upper House Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island.

The 117-key Upper House Hong Kong opened back in 2009, and it has long been regarded as one of the city’s best hotels. Not that I place much value on this, but on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025 list, it was ranked in 10th place.

Here’s what I find so interesting — people rave about the Upper House Hong Kong, but it has no pool, no spa, it has a single(ish) restaurant and bar, and it doesn’t even really have a lobby. So what’s going on here, and why do many people love this property? After staying there, I sort of get it.

In this post I’d like to share some initial impressions, and then soon I’ll have a full review. For what it’s worth, we paid around $700 for our one-night stay, and booked through Virtuoso. Let me point out that this hotel is also bookable with Chase Points Boost, so if you could redeem for 1.5 cents each, you’d pay around 47,000 points per night, comparable to what you’d pay for a top Hyatt property is moving points to World of Hyatt. Let me also mention that if you’re not a fan of these non-points hotels, the rest of the trip only has points hotels, so stay tuned!

The Upper House Hong Kong is a simple, personalized hotel

The Upper House Hong Kong is located in Pacific Place, on Hong Kong Island. Funny enough, it’s literally stacked on top of the JW Marriott Hong Kong, taking up floors 38 through 49 of the same building.

The hotel doesn’t really have a “proper” lobby, but that’s because there’s not really a need for one. On the ground floor, there’s a small seating area to the right, and then a counter to the left, where the front office associates stand.

But the idea is that the Upper House Hong Kong offers in-room check-in, so as guests arrive, they’re brought straight upstairs. That’s a really nice touch.

Aside from the restaurant on the top floor, facilities are otherwise limited. There’s a nice atrium that spans the entire height of the hotel, with a very cool design.

Then there’s a small but decent gym, which is accessible 24/7.

The Upper House Hong Kong has spacious, stylish rooms

All accommodations at the Upper House Hong Kong are generously sized. Rooms fall into the category of Studio 70 (70 square meters, or 753 square feet), Studio 80 (80 square meters, or 861 square feet), and then suites (114 square meters, or 1,230 square feet). Entry level rooms in a city hotel being over 750 square feet is kind of unheard of.

When you consider the sheer amount of space you’re getting, that really makes the pricing relatively reasonable. Just as a comparison, suites at the JW Marriott underneath this property are 77 square meters, and typically cost more than the two entry level room categories at the Upper House.

When it comes to design, the Upper House Hong Kong was imagined by André Fu Studio, also behind properties like the Capella Taipei (which we stayed earlier on this trip), Waldorf Astoria Osaka, Dusit Thani, Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, etc.

The hotel simply has really cool, minimalist design, which I like. The hotel has been maintained and refreshed over the years, though it hasn’t undergone a full renovation. So I’d say the rooms look well maintained and are in good condition, but don’t necessarily feel cutting edge.

We were upgraded to a suite on account of our Virtuoso booking and high occupancy. The room featured a big living room, a good size bedroom, and a massive bathroom, with a very nice soaking tub.

While you’ll find the most iconic views from Kowloon, the views from this area are pretty great as well, looking out at Victoria Harbour, and also at the mountainous greenery behind the hotel.

The Upper House Hong Kong offers nice inclusions

One thing that guests seem to love about the Upper House Hong Kong is the inclusions, some of which are marketed, and some of which are more in the “surprise and delight” category. For example, there’s a hotel car that can take you around town on a first come, first served basis, which is a convenient feature (and we found availability to actually be very good, the two times we wanted to use it).

Upon arrival, a couple of glasses of champagne were brought to our room.

The hotel also offers all guests a generous welcome amenity — ours had some delicious fruit and chocolate, a candle, and two handkerchiefs.

The hotel also offers a complimentary minibar (or Maxi Bar, as the hotel calls it), where everything except the wine is complimentary.

The hotel even provides guests complimentary sunscreen, and an amenity kit they can take home with them… as an airline product geek, that made me smile!

The Upper House Hong Kong has a great restaurant & bar

Located on the 49th (top) floor of the Upper House Hong Kong is Salisterra, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, which serves Mediterranean cuisine.

This is where the hotel’s excellent breakfast is served. There’s no buffet, but instead, it’s an unlimited a la carte concept, where you can order whatever you’d like (assuming breakfast is included with your rate, as it was for us, thanks to booking through Virtuoso).

From barista coffee, to iced coffee, to papaya salad, to scrambled tofu, we enjoyed everything.

Immediately next to that is the Green Room, a cute, chic little bar, where we enjoyed some great cocktails (and high marks for the bar snacks!).

The views from up here are also pretty magical.

I’ve gotta say, the vibe throughout the hotel is also very different than at the Rosewood, for example. That’s expected, given that this hotel is in the Admiralty district. We found the crowd at the restaurant and bar to be both business oriented and chic, and very international. There was also some great people watching there.

Bottom line

The Upper House Hong Kong has long been regarded as one of the city’s best hotels, though it’s a bit unconventional. It’s boutique, minimalist, and has fairly limited amenities.

What the hotel has going for it is massive rooms, a good number of inclusions, a very nice rooftop restaurant and bar, amazing views, and friendly service. Personally, I also like the location on Hong Kong Island, as you’re within walking distance from lots of great restaurants and bars.

It’s amazing just how different the Rosewood and Upper House are, and which is better depends entirely on what vibe you want, and what features you value most.

What’s your take on the Upper House Hong Kong?